The Ministry of Public Health is exploring the possibility of mobile sample collection in an effort to ramp up testing for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the country.
Last Friday, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) representative to Guyana Dr. William Adu-Krow stated that as PAHO continues to support the public health ministry’s response to COVID-19, 7,000 testing kits would be delivered to Guyana. As a result, the ministry is looking at the use of mobile sample collection, which would target potential “hot spots.”
During a telephone interview, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle explained that the ministry is mapping areas of interest. Gordon-Boyle said authorities will fan out to collect samples for the virus and send them to the National Public Health Reference Laboratory, as the tests need to be conducted in a controlled environment, like the laboratory.